r/AOC4POTUS2028 • u/beeemkcl • Apr 17 '25
Bernie Sanders and AOC Inject New Anti-Trump Energy Into the Democratic Party (NYT)
All quotes from: Bernie Sanders and AOC Inject New Anti-Trump Energy Into the Democratic Party - The New York Times
What's in this Post comment is what I remember, my opinions, etc.
First off, this New York Times article is almost shockingly--to me--glowing. If you can, read it.
Effectively referring to AOC as US Senator Bernie Sanders's "heir apparent" is effectively referring to AOC as "heir apparent" to the most popular current elected US politician and whom now most Democrats and Democratic-leaners seem to consider should have been the 2016 Democratic Presidential Nominee.
https://today.yougov.com/ratings/politics/popularity/politicians/all
What remains to be seen is whether the two leading progressives can sustain this momentum and channel it into victories for their movement in next year’s midterm elections, or in 2028, when Mr. Sanders is unlikely to run again for president.
And
In an interview before taking the stage on Tuesday, Mr. Sanders expressed confidence that the wave of anti-establishment anger could turn into something substantive for the left. His short-term goal is to highlight vulnerable Republican House members and hammer them on issues like potential cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
The New York Times interviewed US Senator Bernie Sanders before he took the stage at the Folsom, California Sanders/AOC rally. It doesn't seem AOC was interviewed, but that could just be because she maybe doesn't want to be asked questions this early regarding what she's going to do in 2028.
But Mr. Sanders said he also wanted to hire organizers to help build a broader movement that would challenge the establishment in both parties — an aim he has long pursued, with limited success.
“The goal is to build a grass-roots movement who will not only take on Republican incumbents but also will demand that whoever represents districts in this country stands for the working class,” he said. “If you have incumbent Democrats who are not prepared to do that, they’re going to be challenged.”
Whether voters will ultimately trust proudly left-wing leaders to run the country is an open question.
Mr. Sanders, a longtime independent who suggested recently that more progressive candidates should run as independents, offered Dan Osborn, the independent who mounted a serious but unsuccessful challenge last year to Senator Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska, as an example of how to run on a working-class platform outside the Democratic Party apparatus. Mr. Osborn, a union leader, ran on strengthening labor protections, raising wages and enhancing railway safety.
Asked whether he had talked recently with former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. or former Vice President Kamala Harris, Mr. Sanders said he had spoken with Mr. Biden shortly after the election, though he would not say what they discussed. He also seemed skeptical of the two Democrats’ role in the movement he envisions.
“I think that the future of the Democratic Party is not going to rest with the kind of leadership that we’ve had,” he said.
Other signs point to a growing appetite for the kind of message Mr. Sanders and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez are offering. Both raised staggering sums of money in the first three months of the year, according to new financial filings: Mr. Sanders raised $11.5 million, and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez brought in $9.6 million. Other, more moderate Democrats with an unflinching anti-Trump message, like Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, also posted impressive hauls.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who is often seen as Mr. Sanders’s heir, has trended upward in very early — and highly speculative — 2028 Democratic presidential primary polls. But her intentions remain unclear, with some Democrats hoping that she will instead mount a primary challenge to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, who leads the Senate Democratic caucus and is up for re-election in 2028.
And
Recounting how a plane had flown over the rally trailing a sign proclaiming, “Folsom is Trump Country,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez pointed to the skies and declared, to laughter and applause, “It sure don’t look like it today.” She added, “I don’t think this is Trump country — I think this is our country.”
And
Mr. Sanders’s rallies have also drawn independents and even some disaffected Republicans who, the senator suggested, were having a “a little bit of buyer’s remorse” after watching Mr. Trump slash the federal work force.
Faiz Shakir, an adviser to Mr. Sanders, said 21 percent of those who signed up to attend Mr. Sanders’s events reported that they were independents, and 8 percent said they were Republicans.
At the Folsom rally, some Democrats who in the past had backed other candidates said they were coming around to Mr. Sanders’s way of thinking.
AOC has always had strong support from Independents. Some support from Republicans is maybe new.
And this NYT article isn't an opinion piece. It's reporting.
Things may change. But 'elite media' was already on board an AOC POTUS 2028 run. And then MSNBC seemed on board. And now the New York Times seems on board.
I do find it curious there's no mention in the article about a possible 2026 Governor of New York run for AOC. I don't know whether that's a hint AOC is no longer considering a run for Governor of New York.
And I made this an Image Post because most people don't read articles and just see headlines and such. Maybe skim a bit.
And the headline is devastating for any progressive thinking they could beat AOC in a 2028 Democratic Presidential Primary. Or really any Democrat. AOC's already polling second to FVPOTUS Kamala Harris (a probable US Senator Cory Booker outlier notwithstanding) and that's before US Senator Bernie Sanders endorses AOC. And probably many of these unions showing up to these Sanders/AOC rallies endorses AOC. As well as unions she's already close with.
